Discontinued · road · Race day / Tempo · $310
Nike Alphafly 2: 40 mm heel stack, 8 mm drop, 240 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Built for race day, tempo, at a target pace of 5:30–7:15 /mi on road.
This model is no longer in production. The closest shoe you can buy today is Nike Alphafly 4.
Nike tuned this midsole soft (4/5 on our cushioning scale). Energy return is moderate — comfortable and predictable rather than bouncy. At 40 mm of heel stack this sits in max-cushion territory; legs stay fresher on long efforts, but the platform is tall. Combined, the ride reads as snappy at 4/5 responsiveness.
A full-length carbon plate stiffens the forefoot and works with the foam as a lever: it smooths the transition off the toes and cuts the effort of holding fast paces. It also asks for speed — at easy paces a carbon plate feels stiff and does little for you, and it is the main reason super-shoes wear out sooner than trainers.
A 8 mm drop is the mainstream middle — familiar to almost anyone coming from a standard trainer. The rocker is aggressive: the sole is curved and stiff enough to tip you into the next stride on its own, which saves the calf on long runs but feels strange when you slow right down. Forefoot flex is middle of the road. It is a neutral platform with no built-in correction.
The toe-box is standard width — comfortable for most feet without swimming. It runs small; most runners size up a half. Expect roughly 250 miles from the outsole, about $1.24 per mile at $310.
For the foams and plates Nike uses across its line, read the Nike brand guide.
Measured against the 542 currently-available shoes in the catalog. The bar shows where this shoe sits in that range.
Weight
240 g / 8.5 oz
35 g lighter than the catalog median of 275 g
Heel stack
40 mm
4 mm taller than the catalog median of 36 mm
Drop
8 mm
2 mm higher than the catalog median of 6 mm
Price
$310
150 pricier than the catalog median of 160
Responsiveness
4 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Cushioning
4 / 5
Catalog median 4 / 5
Energy return
3 / 5
Catalog median 3 / 5
Durability
~250 mi
Catalog median ~400 mi
Within the Nike line it is lighter than the brand's median (295 g / 10.4 oz) and sits taller than its median stack (36 mm).
Current shoes with the nearest combination of weight, stack, drop, foam feel and plate.
Nike Zoom Fly 6(2024)
244 g / 8.6 oz · 40 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $190
Carbon-plated super trainer: race geometry with trainer-grade durability.
Salomon S/Lab Spectur
232 g / 8.2 oz · 38 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $220
Stability-minded carbon super shoe aimed at 3:30-and-up marathoners.
Asics S4+ Yogiri
235 g / 8.3 oz · 40 mm · 6 mm drop · Carbon · $210
Asics S4+ Yogiri: 40 mm heel stack, 6 mm drop, 235 g — specs from independent lab testing.
Saucony Kinvara Pro
269 g / 9.5 oz · 42 mm · 8 mm drop · Carbon · $180
A tall, plated long-run shoe carrying the Kinvara name into the super-trainer era.